1996 NCAA Division I baseball season

1996 NCAA Division I baseball season
Number of teams	275
NCAA Tournament
College World Series
Champions	LSU
Runners-up	Miami (FL)
MOP	Pat Burrell (Miami (FL))
Seasons
← 1995	1997 â†’

The 1996 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1996. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1996 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the fiftieth time in 1996, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. LSU claimed the championship for the third time.^[1]

Realignment

• The Metro Conference dissolved, with its members moving primarily to Conference USA.
• Notre Dame departed the Midwestern Collegiate Conference for the Big East Conference, while Xavier and La Salle moved to the Atlantic 10.

Format changes

• The Big East divided into two divisions, named National and American.
• The Trans America Athletic Conference divided into three divisions of four teams each, the Eastern, Southern, and Western.

Conference winners

This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1996 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Each of the eight regionals consisted of six teams competing in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. In order to provide all conference champions with an automatic bid, 12 conference champions participated in a play-in round. The six winners joined the other 18 conference champions with automatic bids, 24 teams earned at-large selections.^[1][2]

Conference	Regular Season Winner	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue • City	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Florida State	1996 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament	Durham Bulls Athletic Park • Durham, NC	Virginia
Big East Conference	American - West Virginia National - Villanova	1996 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament	Muzzy Field • Bristol, CT	West Virginia
Big Eight Conference	Oklahoma State	1996 Big Eight Conference Baseball Tournament	All Sports Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma State
Big Ten Conference	Penn State	1996 Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament	Beaver Field • State College, PA	Indiana
Big West Conference	Long Beach State	1996 Big West Conference Baseball Tournament	Titan Field • Fullerton, CA	UNLV
Conference USA	South Florida	1996 Conference USA Baseball Tournament	Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS	Tulane
Ivy League	Gehrig - Princeton Rolfe - Harvard	1996 Ivy League Baseball Championship Series	Bill Clarke Field • Princeton, NJ	Princeton
Mid-American Conference	Kent State	1996 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament	Gene Michael Field • Kent, OH	Akron
Midwestern Collegiate Conference	Butler	1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Baseball Tournament	Indianapolis, IN	Northern Illinois
Mid-Continent Conference	Troy State	1996 Mid-Continent Conference Baseball Tournament	Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL	Northeastern Illinois
North Atlantic Conference	Delaware	1996 North Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament	Mahoney Diamond • Orono, ME	Delaware
Pacific-10 Conference	North - Washington South - Southern California	No Tournament
Southeastern Conference	Eastern - Florida Western - Alabama	1996 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL	Alabama
Southern Conference	Georgia Southern	1996 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament	College Park • Charleston, SC	Georgia Southern
Southwest Conference	Texas	1996 Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament	Dan Law Field • Lubbock, TX	Rice
Trans America Athletic Conference	Eastern - Georgia State Southern - Stetson Western - Jacksonville State	1996 Trans America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament	Conrad Park • DeLand, FL	UCF
West Coast Conference	Santa Clara	No tournament

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

1996 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT #6 Florida State †^y 19 – 5   .792     52 – 17   .754 #4 Clemson ^y 17 – 7   .708     51 – 17   .750 #18 Georgia Tech ^y 13 – 11   .542     40 – 24   .625 #28 NC State ^y 13 – 11   .542     42 – 19   .689 #19 Virginia ‡^y 11 – 13   .458     44 – 21   .677 North Carolina 11 – 13   .458     33 – 25   .569 Duke 9 – 14   .391     39 – 18   .684 Wake Forest 7 – 16   .304     26 – 32   .448 Maryland 7 – 17   .292     24 – 27   .471 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1996[3]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Big East Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T   PCT     W   L   T   PCT American Division West Virginia ^x‡^y 15 – 10 – 0   .600     33 – 25 – 0   .569 Providence ^x 15 – 10 – 0   .600     32 – 17 – 1   .650 St. John's 14 – 10 – 0   .583     26 – 18 – 0   .591 Connecticut 13 – 12 – 0   .520     24 – 23 – 0   .511 Pittsburgh 9 – 13 – 0   .409     24 – 20 – 2   .543 Boston College 6 – 18 – 0   .250     15 – 27 – 0   .357 National Division Villanova ^x 16 – 5 – 0   .762     25 – 20 – 0   .556 Rutgers 15 – 7 – 1   .674     32 – 21 – 1   .602 Notre Dame ^y 13 – 7 – 0   .650     44 – 18 – 0   .710 Georgetown 6 – 18 – 0   .250     18 – 34 – 0   .346 Seton Hall 5 – 17 – 1   .239     18 – 27 – 1   .402 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1996[4][5]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Big Ten Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Penn State † 19 – 8   .704     32 – 24   .571 Indiana ‡^y 18 – 8   .692     43 – 18   .705 Illinois 17 – 10   .630     37 – 22   .627 Michigan 17 – 11   .607     24 – 30   .444 Minnesota 15 – 12   .556     30 – 26   .536 Ohio State 15 – 13   .536     36 – 20   .643 Iowa 13 – 13   .500     25 – 22   .532 Northwestern 10 – 18   .357     26 – 29   .473 Purdue 8 – 19   .296     22 – 32   .407 Michigan State 4 – 24   .143     14 – 41   .255 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1996[6][7]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1996 Big West Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Long Beach State † 15 – 6   .714     34 – 26   .567 #26 UNLV ‡ 14 – 7   .667     43 – 17   .717 UC Santa Barbara 14 – 7   .667     32 – 20   .615 #13 Cal State Fullerton 13 – 8   .619     42 – 16   .724 Nevada 8 – 13   .381     28 – 18   .609 New Mexico State 8 – 13   .381     25 – 27   .481 San Jose State 7 – 14   .333     28 – 28   .500 Pacific 5 – 16   .238     24 – 25   .490 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the 1996 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament As of June 30, 1996[8]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Conference USA baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT South Florida †^y 20 – 4   .833     47 – 19   .712 Tulane ‡^y 18 – 6   .750     43 – 20   .683 Southern Miss 14 – 10   .583     32 – 28   .533 UAB 13 – 11   .542     33 – 25   .569 Charlotte 11 – 13   .458     29 – 30   .492 Memphis 9 – 11   .450     26 – 28   .481 Saint Louis 9 – 12   .429     25 – 24   .510 Louisville 6 – 15   .286     18 – 36   .333 Cincinnati 1 – 19   .050     5 – 34   .128 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1996[9]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Mid-American Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T   PCT     W   L   T   PCT Kent State † 21 – 7 – 0   .750     30 – 20 – 0   .600 Ohio 21 – 11 – 0   .656     34 – 23 – 0   .596 Toledo 18 – 14 – 0   .563     27 – 27 – 0   .500 Akron ‡^y 18 – 14 – 0   .563     37 – 23 – 0   .617 Ball State 16 – 14 – 0   .533     32 – 20 – 1   .613 Central Michigan 16 – 14 – 0   .533     31 – 20 – 0   .608 Eastern Michigan 16 – 16 – 0   .500     26 – 29 – 0   .473 Bowling Green 14 – 17 – 0   .452     28 – 22 – 0   .560 Western Michigan 10 – 21 – 0   .323     17 – 34 – 0   .333 Miami 5 – 27 – 0   .156     12 – 40 – 0   .231 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1996[10]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
1996 Southeastern Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT Eastern Division #3 Florida ^x 20 – 10   .667     50 – 18   .735 #12 Tennessee 18 – 12   .600     43 – 20   .683 Kentucky 15 – 14   .517     35 – 24   .593 Vanderbilt 14 – 16   .467     29 – 25   .537 South Carolina 13 – 17   .433     25 – 28   .472 Georgia 8 – 21   .276     24 – 30   .444 Western Division #5 Alabama ^x‡ 20 – 10   .667     50 – 19   .725 #1 LSU ^x 20 – 10   .667     52 – 15   .776 #27 Mississippi State 17 – 13   .567     38 – 24   .613 Arkansas 15 – 15   .500     39 – 20   .661 Auburn 12 – 18   .400     32 – 24   .571 Ole Miss 7 – 23   .233     24 – 30   .444 x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the 1996 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament As of June 30, 1996[11]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Southern Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT #14 Georgia Southern †‡^y 17 – 3   .850     46 – 14   .767 Western Carolina 17 – 7   .708     32 – 24   .571 Furman 15 – 9   .625     26 – 29   .473 The Citadel 13 – 10   .565     33 – 26   .559 Appalachian State 12 – 10   .545     27 – 19   .587 East Tennessee State 11 – 12   .478     26 – 24   .520 VMI 7 – 16   .304     17 – 29   .370 Davidson 6 – 18   .250     16 – 33   .327 Marshall 4 – 17   .190     7 – 35   .167 † – Conference champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1996[12]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball	1996 Southwest Conference baseball standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT #16 Texas †^y 17 – 7   .708     39 – 24   .619 #17 Texas Tech ^y 15 – 9   .625     49 – 15   .766 Texas A&M 12 – 12   .500     37 – 21   .638 Baylor 11 – 13   .458     32 – 27   .542 Texas Christian 11 – 13   .458     34 – 33   .507 Houston 9 – 15   .375     29 – 28   .509 #25 Rice ‡^y 9 – 15   .375     42 – 23   .646 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1996; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

College World Series

The 1996 season marked the fiftieth NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with LSU claiming their third championship with a 9–8 win over Miami (FL) in the final.^[1]

Bracket

	First Round					Second Round					Semifinals						Finals
	1	Alabama	7
	8	Oklahoma State	5
						1	Alabama	1
						5	Miami (FL)	15
	4	Clemson	3
	5	Miami (FL)	7
											5	Miami (FL)	14	—
	Bracket One
										4	Clemson	5	—
	8	Oklahoma State	5
	4	Clemson	8^10
						1	Alabama	13
						4	Clemson	14
																5	Miami (FL)	8
																6	LSU	9
	2	Florida	5
	7	Florida State	2
						2	Florida	4
						6	LSU	9
	3	Wichita State	8
	6	LSU	9
											6	LSU	2	—
	Bracket Two
										2	Florida	1	—
	7	Florida State	8
	3	Wichita State	4
						2	Florida	6
						7	Florida State	3

Award winners

All-America team

References

1. W.C. Madden and Patrick J. Stewart (2004). The College World Series:A Baseball History, 1947-2003. McFarland & Co. pp. 41–43. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
2. "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 7. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
3. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1996". Boyd's World. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
4. 2012 Big East Baseball Media Guide. Big East Conference. p. 61. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
5. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1996". boydsworld.com. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
6. 2012 Big Ten Baseball Record Book (PDF). Big Ten Conference. p. 101. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
7. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1996". Boyd's World. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
8. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1996". Boydsworld.com. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
9. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1996". Boyd's World. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
10. "All-time Standings" (PDF). Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
11. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1996". Boydsworld.com. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
12. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1996". Boyd's World. Retrieved March 28, 2015.